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President Caruso Joins Education Leaders for Business NH Roundtable Discussion

A feature article, “Solving the Higher Ed Equation,” in the March issue of Business NH, includes David Caruso, president of Antioch University New England (AUNE), in a roundtable discussion with ten other higher-education leaders in New Hampshire.

The article points out that colleges and universities have a nearly $5 billion impact on the state of New Hampshire. For one thing, college graduates earn about $1 million more during their careers than those with only a high-school diploma.

But there are obstacles to getting a degree. Debt loads can be burdensome: Students in New Hampshire community colleges paid the highest average tuition in the country for the 2008-09 school year. Students in the University System of New Hampshire paid the fifth-highest average tuition of all state schools.

Higher-education institutions strive to provide sufficient financial aid to students who need it. But they face financial hurdles themselves, including inadequate state support, taxes and ever-growing health care costs, which have helped drive up tuition over the last twenty years, Caruso said in the article.

Caruso noted that about fifty percent of college students nationwide are adults juggling school with families, jobs or mortgages. To offer them the flexibility they require, schools are providing more diverse ways to earn degrees, including part-time and online options such as AUNE’s new green MBA online program.

Read more about the discussion on how New Hampshire colleges and universities are adapting to change and challenges.